Imaging support apparatus, imaging support method and non-transitory computer-readable medium

ABSTRACT

Provided is an imaging support apparatus including: a first information acquiring unit configured to acquire first information indicating a first timing at which a satellite image of a target area is captured; a prediction result acquiring unit configured to acquire a prediction result of a time-series prediction of an imaging environment in the target area; a calculating unit configured to calculate on a time-series basis, based on the prediction result, a degree of similarity of an imaging environment between the first timing and each timing other than the first timing; a determining unit configured to determine a second timing on which a satellite image of the target area is to be captured based on the degree of similarity; and a second information output unit configured to output second information indicating the second timing.

The contents of the following Japanese patent application(s) areincorporated herein by reference:

NO. 2022-082657 filed in JP on May 19, 2022

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to an imaging support apparatus, animaging support method and a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

2. Related Art

In Patent document 1, there is described that “As a satellite imagewhich is cloud-covered by a certain ratio or more is not usable, thepoints that can be collected in the area are adjusted to beapproximately 0”.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENT Patent document

Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No.2020-173604

Patent document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No.2015-028759

Patent document 3: Japanese Patent Application Publication No.2021-006017

SUMMARY

In the first aspect of the present invention, an imaging supportapparatus is provided. The imaging support apparatus includes: a firstinformation acquiring unit configured to acquire first informationindicating a first timing at which a satellite image of a target area iscaptured; a prediction result acquiring unit configured to acquire aprediction result of a time-series prediction of an imaging environmentin the target area; a calculating unit configured to calculate on atime-series basis, based on the prediction result, a degree ofsimilarity of an imaging environment between the first timing and eachtiming other than the first timing; a determining unit configured todetermine a second timing on which a satellite image of the target areais to be captured based on the degree of similarity; and a secondinformation output unit configured to output second informationindicating the second timing.

In the imaging support apparatus, the imaging environment may include atleast an index indicating the soil moisture content in the target area.

Any one of the imaging support apparatuses may further include a weatherdata acquiring unit configured to acquire weather data; and a predictionunit configured to predict the index based on the weather data.

In any one of the imaging support apparatuses, the prediction unit maypredict the index by using a tank model.

In any one of the imaging support apparatuses, the determining unit maydetermine the second timing from among potential timings at which adifference in the index satisfies a predetermined criterion between thefirst timing and each timing other than the first timing.

In any one of the imaging support apparatuses, the second informationoutput unit may output an imaging request command configured to requestfor capturing the target area at the second timing.

Any one of the imaging support apparatuses may further include a firstimage acquiring unit configured to acquire first satellite image dataobtained by capturing the target area at the first timing; and a secondimage acquiring unit configured to acquire second satellite image dataobtained by capturing the target area at the second timing.

Any one of the imaging support apparatuses may further include an imageanalysis unit configured to analyze the first satellite image data andthe second satellite image data.

In any one of the imaging support apparatuses, the image analysis unitmay detect a change in vegetation in the target area based on adifference between the first satellite image data and the secondsatellite image data.

Any one of the imaging support apparatuses may further include ananalysis result output unit configured to generate an alert when thechange in vegetation exceeds a predetermined criterion.

In a second aspect of the present invention, an imaging support methodis provided. The imaging support method is performed by a computer andincludes the following steps executed by the computer: acquiring firstinformation indicating a first timing at which a satellite image of atarget area is captured; acquiring a prediction result of a time-seriesprediction of an imaging environment in the target area; calculating ona time-series basis, based on the prediction result, a degree ofsimilarity of an imaging environment between the first timing and eachtiming other than the first timing; determining a second timing on whicha satellite image of the target area is to be captured based on thedegree of similarity; and outputting second information indicating thesecond timing.

In a third aspect of the present invention, a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having an imaging support program recordedthereon is provided. The imaging support program is performed by acomputer, and causes the computer to function as: a first informationacquiring unit configured to acquire first information indicating afirst timing at which a satellite image of a target area is captured; aprediction result acquiring unit configured to acquire a predictionresult of a time-series prediction of an imaging environment in thetarget area; a calculating unit configured to calculate on a time-seriesbasis, based on the prediction result, a degree of similarity of animaging environment between the first timing and each timing other thanthe first timing; a determining unit configured to determine a secondtiming on which a satellite image of the target area is to be capturedbased on the degree of similarity; and a second information output unitconfigured to output second information indicating the second timing.

The summary clause does not necessarily describe all necessary featuresof the embodiments of the present invention. In addition, the presentinvention may also be a sub-combination of the features described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a block diagram of an imaging system 1 thatmay include an imaging support apparatus 100 according to the presentembodiment.

FIG. 2 shows an example of spectral reflection characteristics of water,soil and plant.

FIG. 3 indicates an example of an imaging support method flow that maybe performed by the imaging support apparatus 100 according to thepresent embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a block diagram of an imaging system 1 thatmay include the imaging support apparatus 100 according to a variationof the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a tank model.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a block diagram of an imaging system 1 thatmay include the imaging support apparatus 100 according to anothervariation of the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a computer 9900 in which a plurality ofaspects of the present invention may be entirely or partially embodied.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described,but the embodiment does not limit the invention according to the claims.In addition, not all combinations of features described in theembodiment are essential to the solution of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a block diagram of a remote sensing system 1that may include an imaging support apparatus 100 according to thepresent embodiment. Note that, these blocks are functional blocks thatare each functionally divided, and may not be necessarily required to bematched with actual apparatus configurations. That is, in the presentdrawing, an apparatus indicated by one block may not be necessarilyrequired to be configured by one apparatus. In addition, in the presentdrawing, apparatuses indicated by separate blocks may not be necessarilyrequired to be configured by separate apparatuses. The same applies tosubsequent block diagrams.

During the remote sensing, attempts are made to capture changes in aland surface by analyzing a plurality of satellite images captured atdifferent time points. However, upon capturing the satellite images, theimaging environment changes from moment to moment. Therefore, adifference in the imaging environment between the plurality of satelliteimages may affect the analysis results. The imaging support apparatus100 according to the present embodiment supports capturing the satelliteimages so as to reduce such influences, for example. The remote sensingsystem 1 includes a satellite 10, a ground station 20, a processingstation 30, a database 40 and an imaging support apparatus 100.

The satellite 10 is an artificial satellite configured to observe theearth by using radio waves, infrared rays and visible light, and is alsoreferred to as an earth observation satellite or a remote sensingsatellite. The satellite 10 can communicate with the ground station 20,for example, the satellite 10 receives a command, from the groundstation 20, for commanding to capture a satellite image and transmits,to the ground station 20, data of the captured satellite image inresponse to the command.

The ground station 20 is a facility which is provided on the ground tocommunicate with the satellite 10, and is also referred to as asatellite communication facility. The ground station 20 can communicatewith the satellite 10, for example, the ground station 20 transmits, tothe satellite 10, when there is a request for capturing the satelliteimages, a command for commanding to capture the satellite images, andreceives, from the satellite 10, data of the captured satellite imagesin response to the command.

Note that, during the communication between the satellite 10 and theground station 20, various modulation and demodulation or poweramplification may be performed. In addition, the satellite 10 and theground station 20 may directly communicate without going through anotherapparatus, or may indirectly communicate through another apparatus whichis not illustrated (for example, communication satellite). The groundstation 20 supplies the received satellite image data to the processingstation 30.

The processing station 30 applies various processes on the satelliteimage data. For example, the processing station 30 may crop thesatellite image data supplied from the ground station 20 by apredetermined magnitude. Also, the processing station 30 may performcorrection, on the satellite image data, the sensitivity of a sensormounted on the satellite 10, a position or angle of the Sun, and adistortion of radiation amount caused by atmosphere condition and thelike (Radiometric correction). Also, the processing station 30 mayperform correction, on the satellite image data, an influence caused bythe rotation or curvature of the Earth, and a position change and thelike of the satellite 10 (geometric correction). The processing station30 stores the corrected satellite image data in the database 40 togetherwith metadata such as the capturing date and time or information at thetime of the correction.

The database 40 has the satellite image data saved therein. For example,in the database 40, the satellite image data supplied by the processingstation 30 and the metadata may be saved in association with each other.A user can acquire or purchase such data saved in the database 40through a satellite operating institution, agency or the like, forexample.

The imaging support apparatus 100 may be a computer such as a PC(personal computer), a tablet computer, a smartphone, a workstation, aserver computer or a general purpose computer, or may be a computersystem to which a plurality of computers are connected. Such a computersystem is also a computer in a broad sense. Also, the imaging supportapparatus 100 may be implemented by one or more virtual computerenvironment which is executable within the computer. Alternatively, theimaging support apparatus 100 may be a special purpose computer designedfor supporting the image capturing, or may be a special purpose hardwareachieved by a dedicated circuitry. Also, the imaging support apparatus100 may achieve cloud computing when it can be connected to theInternet.

The imaging support apparatus 100 is configured to determine a timing atwhich the satellite image should be captured based on the predictionresult of the imaging environment and to output it. In this way, theimaging support apparatus 100 supports capturing of the satellite image.The imaging support apparatus 100 includes a first information acquiringunit 110, a prediction result acquiring unit 120, a calculating unit130, a determining unit 140 and a second information output unit 150.

The first information acquiring unit 110 is configured to acquire firstinformation indicating a first timing at which a satellite image of atarget area is captured. Herein, the target area is area of interest(AOI) to which the user desires to perform remote sensing. Suppose thatthe satellite image of such target area is captured at any time point(referred to as “a first timing”) by the satellite 10. In such a case,the first information acquiring unit 110 may acquire informationindicating the first timing as the first information. Note that thecapturing does not necessarily have to be completed at the time point atwhich the first information acquiring unit 110 acquires the firstinformation. That is, at the time point at which the first informationacquiring unit 110 acquires the first information, there is no problemas long as the target area is determined to be captured at the firsttiming (for example, as long as the capturing is requested to the groundstation 20), and it may be construed to be regardless of whether thesatellite 10 actually completed the capturing of the target area. Thefirst information acquiring unit 110 is configured to supply theacquired first information to the prediction result acquiring unit 120.

The prediction result acquiring unit 120 is configured to acquire aprediction result of a time-series prediction of an imaging environmentin the target area. For example, the prediction result acquiring unit120 may acquire the prediction result of the time-series prediction ofthe imaging environment in the target area with the first timingindicating the first information acquired by the first informationacquiring unit 110 as a starting point. Such an imaging environment mayinclude at least an index indicating the soil moisture content in thetarget area. In this regard, details are described below. Note that,“time-series” means series in a different plurality of time points (atleast two time points), and it may be construed, not limited to a casein which an interval between the time point and the time point isconstant, but to include a case in which the interval is not constant (aso-called point process). The prediction result acquiring unit 120 isconfigured to supply the acquired prediction result to the calculatingunit 130.

The calculating unit 130 is configured to calculate on a time-seriesbasis, based on the prediction result, a degree of similarity of theimaging environment between the first timing and each timing other thanthe first timing. For example, the calculating unit 130 may calculate,on a time-series basis, based on the prediction result acquired by theprediction result acquiring unit 120, a degree of similarity of theimaging environment between the first timing indicating the firstinformation acquired by the first information acquiring unit 110 andeach timing other than the first timing. The calculating unit 130 isconfigured to supply the calculated degree of similarity to thedetermining unit 140.

The determining unit 140 is configured to determine, based on the degreeof similarity, a second timing at which the satellite image of thetarget area should be captured. For example, the determining unit 140may determine, based on the degree of similarity calculated by thecalculating unit 130, the second timing at which the satellite image ofthe target area should be captured. The determining unit 140 isconfigured to inform the determined second timing to the secondinformation output unit 150.

The second information output unit 150 is configured to output secondinformation indicating the second timing. For example, the secondinformation output unit 150 may output second information indicating thesecond timing determined by the determining unit 140.

The operation of such an imaging support apparatus 100 will be describedin detail. In the following, a case in which the imaging supportapparatus 100 is applied to visible/reflected infrared remote sensingamong the remote sensings will be described as an example. Accordingly,the satellite image which is captured with the support of the imagingsupport apparatus 100 may be a multispectral image. Such multispectralimage is configured to record electromagnetic wave of differentspectrums reflected by various objects configuring a land surface(water, soil, plant and the like). However, the present invention is notlimited to this. The imaging support apparatus 100 can be applied toanother remote sensing such as thermal infrared remote sensing ormicrowave remote sensing.

FIG. 2 shows an example of spectral reflection characteristics of water,soil and plant. In the present drawing, the horizontal axis indicates awavelength of electromagnetic wave with a unit of μm. Also, in thepresent drawing, the vertical axis indicates the reflectivity. As shownin the present drawing, spectral reflection characteristic indicatescharacteristic of the reflectivity for each of the spectrums in eachobject. The object configuring the land surface has differentreflectivity characteristics for each of the spectrums depending ontheir types. For example, “water” has a visible region (0.4˜ 0.7 μm) asa main reflection area. “Soil” tends to reflect more strongly as thewavelength becomes longer, and has the short wavelength infrared region(1.3˜3 μm) as a main reflection area. “Plant” has the characteristic ofefficiently absorbing visible region and reflecting near-infrared region(0.7˜1.3 μm) through the action of photosynthesis pigments.

A multispectral image for recording electromagnetic waves of differentwavelength bands may be important data for understanding the spectrumreflecting characteristics of such objects. By performing an operationby using the information of the different wavelength bands included inthe multispectral image, a feature of the object of the land surface canbe successfully captured. Such an operation is referred to as aninterband operation. As an example, in a vegetation monitoring by aremote sensing, an indicator called Normalized Difference VegetationIndex (NDVI) using spectral reflection characteristics of a plant iswidely used.

NDVI is calculated by the expression “NDVI=(NIR−RED)/(NIR+RED)”. Herein,NIR is the reflectivity of the near-infrared region and RED indicatesthe reflectivity of the red visible region. That is, NDVI is obtained bydividing the difference between the reflectivities of the near-infraredband and the red band both reflected by the plant with the sum thereof.NDVI is indicated by numerical values normalized from values of −1 to 1,the value increases as the vegetation becomes denser. Attempts are madeto capture changes in vegetation by using such NDVI as an indicatorindicating the amount or activity height of the vegetation.

However, such an indicator can include various errors due to the imagingenvironment of the satellite image. As an example, when capturing animage from the satellite 10 to plants on the land surface, there mayexist a portion in which the soil can be seen from a gap among theplants. However, the state of the soil (for example, moisture content)may change from moment to moment. Such change may also affect thereflectivity of the near-infrared region or visible region, and ofcourse may also appear as an error on NDVI calculated based thereon.Accordingly, in capturing changes of the land surface, it is importantto reduce the influence of such a difference in imaging environment onthe analysis results. The imaging support apparatus 100 according to thepresent embodiment supports capturing the satellite images so as toreduce such influences, for example.

FIG. 3 indicates an example of an imaging support method flow that maybe performed by the imaging support apparatus 100 according to thepresent embodiment. The imaging support apparatus 100 may supportcapturing of the satellite image by outputting second informationaccording to this flow, for example.

In step S310, the imaging support apparatus 100 acquires firstinformation. For example, the first information acquiring unit 110 mayacquire first information indicating a first timing at which a satelliteimage of a target area is captured. As an example, suppose that the userspecified the target area with various kinds of information such as anaddress, a name of the place, an object, a zip code, or the userspecified the target area with a geographical coordinate (for example,latitude, longitude) given by performing geocoding on the various kindsof information. Then, suppose that the user requested to the groundstation 20 for capturing, on any time point (for example, 9:00 on Oct.1, 2022) a satellite image of the target area specified in such a way.In such a case, the first information acquiring unit 110 may acquireinformation indicating the first timing (=9:00 on Oct. 1, 2022) as thefirst information. At this time, the first information acquiring unit110 may acquire such first information via user input, or may acquiresuch first information from an imaging request command to the groundstation 20. Also, when data (referred to as a first satellite imagedata) of the satellite image (referred to as a first satellite image)captured based on such an imaging request is saved in the database 40,the first information acquiring unit 110 may acquire the firstinformation from metadata saved in the database 40 in association withthe first satellite image data. The first information acquiring unit 110is configured to supply the acquired first information, together withinformation specifying the target area, to the prediction resultacquiring unit 120.

In step S320, the imaging support apparatus 100 acquires a predictionresult. For example, the prediction result acquiring unit 120 mayacquire a prediction result of a time-series prediction of an imagingenvironment in the target area. As an example, the prediction resultacquiring unit 120 may acquire a prediction result obtained bypredicting on a time-series basis, an imaging environment in the targetarea across a predetermined target period (for example, one month. Thatis, 9:00 on Oct. 1, 2022˜9:00 on Nov. 1, 2022 herein) with the firsttiming indicating the first information acquired in step S310 as astarting point. At this time, the prediction result acquiring unit 120may access homepages of the Meteorological Agency, Private WeatherService Support Center, Weather Service provider and the like (referredto as the Meteorological Agency and the like) as it acquires suchprediction result. Then, the prediction result acquiring unit 120 mayretrieve database of the Meteorological Agency and the like with a typeof the target area, the target period and the weather data as a retrievekey. Then, the prediction result acquiring unit 120 may download theretrieved data as a CSV (Comma Separated Value) file, for example. Theprediction result acquiring unit 120 may acquire the weather dataobtained in such a way, for example, as a prediction result.

Herein, the prediction result may include one or more indicators thatmay indicate various imaging environments that affect the capturing ofthe satellite image. Such indicator includes, for example, weather,cloud, temperature, humidity, precipitation amount, sunshine hour, windspeed, wind direction and the like. Also, as described above, whenmonitoring the vegetation, the soil moisture content may appear on NDVIas an error. Accordingly, it is desirable that the prediction resultincludes an index indicating the soil moisture content, for example, asoil water index. The prediction result acquiring unit 120 may acquiresuch prediction result, for example, from the Meteorological Agency andthe like. The prediction result acquiring unit 120 is configured tosupply the acquired prediction result to the calculating unit 130.

In step S330, the imaging support apparatus 100 calculates a degree ofsimilarity. For example, the calculating unit 130 may calculate, on atime-series basis, based on the prediction result acquired in step S320,a degree of similarity of the imaging environment between the firsttiming indicating the first information acquired in step S310 and eachtiming other than the first timing. As an example, if the predictionresult acquired in step S320 includes a plurality of indicators, theprediction result is multi-dimensional data indicating a value for eachindicator. In this case, the calculating unit 130 may calculate, on atime-series basis, a distance between the data for each indicator withrespect to the first timing. Such distance between the data indicatesthat the lower the value is, the more similar the imaging environment isto the first timing.

Then, the calculating unit 130 may perform weighted addition on thedistance calculated for each indicator. At this time, the calculatingunit 130 may set a weight for each indicator in response to a degree ofinfluence on capturing the satellite image. Also, the calculating unit130 may provide a constraint condition on an indicator which isconsidered to be important. For example, if a soil moisture content isconsidered to be important, the calculating unit 130 may set a weightfunction for a soil water index such that a weighted mean becomes avalue which is large enough when a distance for the soil water index isequal to or greater than a predetermined threshold

In this way, the calculating unit 130 can exclude a timing whose soilmoisture content is not similar to the first timing not to be selectedas a potential timing. The calculating unit 130 is configured to supplythe weighted mean calculated in such a way, for example, to thedetermining unit 140 as the degree of similarity.

In step S340, the imaging support apparatus 100 determines a secondtiming. For example, the determining unit 140 may determine, based onthe degree of similarity calculated in step S330, the second timing atwhich a second satellite image should be captured. As an example, thedetermining unit 140 may select a timing at which the weighted meancalculated in step S330 becomes less than a predetermined threshold as apotential timing. Then, the determining unit 140 may determine thesecond timing from among the potential timings with consideration aboutother various conditions (for example, a trajectory condition ormaintenance condition and the like of the satellite 10).

Herein, if the soil moisture content is provided as the constraintcondition as described above, a potential timing at which the weightedmean becomes less than the predetermined threshold can be a timing atwhich the difference in the indexes indicating the soil moisture contentsatisfies a predetermined criterion between the first timing and eachtiming other than the first timing. Accordingly, the determining unit140 determines, between the first timing and each timing other than thefirst timing, the second timing from among the potential timings atwhich the difference in the indexes indicating the soil moisture contentsatisfies a predetermined criterion.

Note that such second timing preferably includes a plurality of timepoints (may be a continuous time period or may be a group of multiplediscrete time points), not only one time point. In this way, a situationin which the satellite 10 cannot capture images at the determined secondtiming due to some reasons can be avoided, and the determining unit 140informs the second information output unit 150 the determined secondtiming.

In step S350, the imaging support apparatus 100 outputs secondinformation. For example, the second information output unit 150 mayoutput second information indicating the second timing determined instep S340. At this time, as an example, the second information outputunit 150 may output and display the second information on a monitor, mayoutput the second information audibly through a speaker, may print outthe second information through a printer, may output and transmit thesecond information to another apparatus.

In this way, a user who perceived the second information can newlyrequest the ground station 20 for capturing at the second timing thetarget area. That is, the user can specify the timing at which thesecond satellite image is captured as a timing whose imaging environmentis similar to the timing at which the first satellite image is captured.

During the remote sensing, attempts are made to capture changes in aland surface by analyzing a plurality of satellite images captured atdifferent time points. However, upon capturing the satellite images, theimaging environment changes from moment to moment. Therefore, adifference in the imaging environment between the plurality of satelliteimages may affect the analysis results. Therefore, the capture of thesatellite image considering the imaging environment is studied. However,conventionally, only the scheduling was made not to perform imagecapturing when the imaging environment is bad (for example, when itrains or when there are many clouds), and it was not possible topositively make the imaging environment similar at a plurality oftimings for capturing the satellite image.

Meanwhile the imaging support apparatus 100 according to the presentembodiment is configured to determine a timing at which the satelliteimage should be captured based on the prediction result of the imagingenvironment and to output it. In this way, according to the imagingsupport apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, as it ispossible to make widely known the timing at which the imagingenvironment is made similar to the timing at which the first satelliteimage is captured, for example, the user can positively make the imagingenvironment similar at a plurality of timings at which the satelliteimage is captured. Therefore, for example, if the plurality of satelliteimage data is analyzed to capture the change of the land surface, it ispossible to reduce the possibility of false detection such as detectingthe change on the image even though there is no actual change, or notdetecting the change on the image even though there is actual change.

In addition, the imaging support apparatus 100 according to the presentembodiment also considers an indicator indicating the soil moisturecontent in the target area as the imaging environment. In this way, itis possible to reduce the influence of the soil state change on theanalysis result. This is particularly effective when an interbandoperation is used which uses a near-infrared region or a visible regionfor the image analysis, for example, when monitoring the vegetation byusing NDVI and the like.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a block diagram of an imaging system 1 thatmay include the imaging support apparatus 100 according to a variationof the present embodiment. In FIG. 4 , members having the same functionsand configurations as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same referencenumerals, and description thereof will be omitted except fordifferences. In the embodiment described above, the case in which theimaging support apparatus 100 acquires the expected result from theoutside such as the Meteorological Agency has been described as anexample. However, in the modified example, the imaging support apparatus100 predicts at least a part of the prediction result on its own. Theimaging support apparatus 100 according to the modified example furtherincludes a weather data acquiring unit 410 and a prediction unit 420 inaddition to the functional units the imaging support apparatus 100according to the embodiment described above includes. Then, in themodified example, the prediction result acquiring unit 120 is configuredto acquire at least a part of the prediction result from the predictionunit 420. In the following, the case in which the imaging supportapparatus 100 predicts an index indicating the soil moisture content isdescribed as an example. However, the present invention is not limitedto this. The imaging support apparatus 100 may predict other variousindicators.

The weather data acquiring unit 410 is configured to acquire weatherdata. The way of acquiring the weather data may be as described above.The Meteorological Agency and the like combines the advantages of AMeDAS(Automated Meteorological Data Acquisition System) which is located inapproximately 1,300 locations (with approximately 17 km intervals)nationwide and weather radars configured to observe the distribution ofrainfall across the country to calculate the accurate rainfall amountfor each 5 km grid nationwide and publish it. The weather data acquiringunit 410 may acquire, as weather data, at least an amount ofprecipitation analyzed by radar-AMeDAS published from the MeteorologicalAgency and the like in such a way, for example. The weather dataacquiring unit 410 is configured to supply the acquired weather data tothe prediction unit 420. Note that the weather data acquiring unit 410may supply the weather data which can be used as it is as a predictionresult of the imaging environment among the acquired weather data to theprediction result acquiring unit 120 rather than the prediction unit420.

The prediction unit 420 is configured to predict the imaging environment(the index indicating the soil moisture content herein) based on theweather data. And the prediction unit 420 is configured to supply theprediction result to the prediction result acquiring unit 120. At thistime, the prediction unit 420 may predict an index indicating the soilmoisture content by using a tank model. The details are described inthis regard.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a tank model. The tank model is a model inwhich three perforated tanks arranged in series to represent a situationin which rain that has fallen on the ground soaks into the soil and thenflows into a river and the like with a time delay. Each tank has anoutflow hole on the side surface that represents the water flowing outto the surroundings and has a permeation hole on the bottom surface thatrepresents the water impregnates deeper. The outflow hole of the firsttank corresponds to a surface outflow, the outflow hole of the secondtank corresponds to a surface layer permeation outflow, and the outflowhole of the third tank corresponds to a groundwater outflow,respectively. Also, the inflow into the first tank corresponds to theprecipitation, the inflow into the second tank corresponds to theoutflow from the permeation hole of the first tank, and the inflow intothe third tank corresponds to the outflow from the permeation hole ofthe second tank, respectively. That is, in the tank model, the moisturecontent included in the soil is estimated by a value obtained bysubtracting “the amount of water outflowed into the river and the like”and “the amount of water permeated into the soil below” from “the amountof rain that has fallen so far”. Then, in the tank model, the soil waterindex is calculated by the total amount of moisture content remaining ineach tank (storage amount) and it corresponds to the index indicatingthe soil moisture content.

In such a tank model, there is a plurality of parameters to be set, suchas the height of the outflow hole, the outflow coefficient, and thepermeation coefficient. The soil water index published by theMeteorological Agency and the like uses a uniform parameter nationwideas those parameters, and generally does not consider vegetation,geology, weathering and the like in individual regions.

Therefore, the imaging support apparatus 100 according to the modifiedexample is configured to predict such an index on its own, instead ofacquiring from outside such as the Meteorological Agency. As an example,the weather data acquiring unit 410 is configured to acquire an amountof precipitation analyzed by radar-AMeDAS, and the prediction unit 420may calculate the soil water index by using the amount of precipitationanalyzed by radar-AMeDAS and the tank model. Then, the prediction resultacquiring unit 120 may acquire the soil water index calculated by theprediction unit 420 as at least a part of the prediction result.

In such a way, the imaging support apparatus 100 according to themodified example may predict the imaging environment (the indexindicating the soil moisture content herein) on its own. In this way,according to the imaging support apparatus 100 according to the modifiedexample, as the parameter can be tuned considering the vegetation,geology, weathering and the like in the target area, the imagingenvironment can be predicted with relatively high accuracy by using amodel optimized for the target area.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a block diagram of an imaging system 1 thatmay include the imaging support apparatus 100 according to anothervariation of the present embodiment. In FIG. 6 , members having the samefunctions and configurations as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the samereference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted except fordifferences. In the embodiment described above, the case in which theimaging support apparatus 100 has only a function to support thecapturing of the satellite image is described as an example. However, inthe modified example, the imaging support apparatus 100 further includesa function to analyze acquiring the satellite image data in addition tothe function to support the capturing of the satellite image. Theimaging support apparatus 100 according to the modified example furtherincludes a first image acquiring unit 610, a second image acquiring unit620, an image analysis unit 630 and an analysis result output unit 640,in addition to the functional units the imaging support apparatus 100according to the embodiment described above includes. Also, in themodified example, the second information output unit 150 can also outputand transmit, to the ground station 20, an imaging request commandconfigured to request capturing the target area at the second timing.

The first image acquiring unit 610 is configured to acquire the firstsatellite image data obtained by capturing the target area at the firsttiming. For example, the first image acquiring unit 610 may acquire thefirst satellite image data obtained by capturing the target area at thefirst timing from the database 40 via a network. However, the presentinvention is not limited to this. The first image acquiring unit 610 mayacquire the first satellite image data via various memory devices oruser input, or may acquire the first satellite image data from anotherapparatus different from the database 40. The first image acquiring unit610 is configured to supply the acquired first satellite image data tothe image analysis unit 630.

The second image acquiring unit 620 is configured to acquire the secondsatellite image data obtained by capturing the target area at the secondtiming. For example, the second image acquiring unit 620 may acquire thesecond satellite image data obtained by capturing the target area at thesecond timing from the database 40 via a network. However, the presentinvention is not limited to this. The second image acquiring unit 620may acquire the second satellite image data via various memory devicesor user input, or may acquire the second satellite image data fromanother apparatus different from the database 40. Note that such secondsatellite image data may be acquired in response to the imaging requestcommand output to be transmitted to the ground station 20 by the secondinformation output unit 150. The second image acquiring unit 620 isconfigured to supply the acquired second satellite image data to theimage analysis unit 630.

The image analysis unit 630 is configured to analyze the first satelliteimage data and the second satellite image data. For example, the imageanalysis unit 630 may analyze the first satellite image data acquired bythe first image acquiring unit 610 to generate an NDVI image at thefirst timing. Also, the image analysis unit 630 may analyze the secondsatellite image data acquired by the second image acquiring unit 620 togenerate an NDVI image at the second timing. Then, the image analysisunit 630 may detect the change of vegetation in the target area based onthe difference between the NDVI image at the first timing and the NDVIimage at the second timing. The image analysis unit 630 can detect thechange of vegetation in the target area based on the difference betweenthe first satellite image data and the second satellite image data insuch a way, for example.

Note that, in the description described above, the case in which thevegetation is monitored by using NDVI is shown as an example, but it isnot limited thereto. Instead of or in addition to NDVI, anotherindicator such as Extended Vegetation Index (EVI) or Leaf Area Index(LAI) may be used. The image analysis unit 630 is configured to supplythe analysis result to the analysis result output unit 640.

The analysis result output unit 640 is configured to output the analysisresult. For example, the analysis result output unit 640 may output theresult obtained by analyzing by the image analysis unit 630. At thistime, as an example, the analysis result output unit 640 may output anddisplay the analysis result on a monitor, may output the analysis resultaudibly through a speaker, may print out the analysis result through aprinter, may output and transmit the analysis result to anotherapparatus. Also, the analysis result output unit 640 may generate, whenthe change of vegetation detected in the analysis result exceeds apredetermined criterion, an alert to that effect.

In such a way, the imaging support apparatus 100 according to themodified example may further includes a function to acquire the firstsatellite image data and the second satellite image data, and a functionto analyze those image data. In this way, according to the imagingsupport apparatus 100 according to the modified example can achieve, byone apparatus, a function to support the capturing of the satelliteimage, and a function to acquire and analyze the captured satelliteimage data.

Also, the imaging support apparatus 100 according to the modifiedexample may detect the change of vegetation in the target area based onthe difference between the first satellite image data and the secondsatellite image data. Herein, the first satellite image and the secondsatellite image are obtained by positively adjusting the capturingtimings so that the imaging environments are similar. Accordingly, ithas a high affinity with the technique of performing difference analysison the plurality of satellite image data acquired in such a way. In thisway, according to the imaging support apparatus 100 according to themodified example can obtain an analysis result with high accuracy whichis obtained by reducing the influence due to the difference in theimaging environment, and can reduce the possibility of false detection.

Also, the imaging support apparatus 100 according to the modifiedexample may generate an alert when the change of vegetation exceeding apredetermined criterion is detected. In this way, according to theimaging support apparatus 100 according to the modified example, achange in the vegetation due to climate change, or artificialdeforestation or the like can be widely known using the result analyzedwith high accuracy as the ground.

Also, the imaging support apparatus 100 according to the modifiedexample may output and transmit, to the ground station 20, an imagingrequest command configured to request capturing the target area at thesecond timing. In this way, according to the imaging support apparatus100 according to the modified example, the acquisition of the secondsatellite image can be automated without a new imaging request by theuser who perceived the second information. Also, the imaging supportapparatus 100 according to the modified example may determine the nextsecond timing transmit and output further imaging request command to theground station by acquiring the second timing at which the secondsatellite image is captured as a new first timing. In this way,according to the imaging support apparatus 100 according to the modifiedexample, a continuous acquisition of the satellite image can beautomated.

Various embodiments of the present invention may be described withreference to flowcharts and block diagrams whose blocks may represent(1) steps of processes in which operations are performed or (2) sectionsof apparatuses responsible for performing operations. Certain steps andsections may be implemented by dedicated circuitry, programmable circuitsupplied with computer-readable instructions stored on computer-readablemedia, and/or processors supplied with computer-readable instructionsstored on computer-readable media. Dedicated circuitry may includedigital and/or analog hardware circuits, and may include integratedcircuits (IC) and/or discrete circuits. The programmable circuit mayinclude a reconfigurable hardware circuit including logical AND, logicalOR, logical XOR, logical NAND, logical NOR, and other logicaloperations, a memory element such as a flip-flop, a register, a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) and a programmable logic array (PLA), andthe like.

A computer-readable medium may include any tangible device that canstore instructions to be executed by a suitable device, and as a result,the computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon includesan article of manufacture including instructions which can be executedto create means for performing operations specified in the flowcharts orblock diagrams. Examples of the computer-readable medium may include anelectronic storage medium, a magnetic storage medium, an optical storagemedium, an electromagnetic storage medium, a semiconductor storagemedium, and the like. More specific examples of the computer-readablemedium may include a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a diskette, ahard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), anerasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), anelectrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a staticrandom access memory (SRAM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), adigital versatile disk (DVD), a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk, amemory stick, an integrated circuit card, and the like.

The computer-readable instruction may include: an assembler instruction,an instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instruction; a machineinstruction; a machine dependent instruction; a microcode; a firmwareinstruction; state-setting data; or either a source code or an objectcode written in any combination of one or more programming languages,including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk(registered trademark), JAVA (registered trademark), C++, or the like;and a conventional procedural programming language such as a “C”programming language or a similar programming language.

Computer-readable instructions may be provided to a processor of ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatuses, or to a programmable circuit,locally or via a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN) suchas the Internet, or the like, to execute the computer-readableinstructions to create means for performing operations specified in theflowcharts or block diagrams. An example of the processor includes acomputer processor, processing unit, microprocessor, digital signalprocessor, controller, microcontroller, etc.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a computer 9900 where a plurality of aspectsof the present invention may be entirely or partially embodied. Aprogram that is installed in the computer 9900 can cause the computer9900 to function as or execute operations associated with the apparatusof the embodiment of the present invention or one or more sections ofthe apparatus, and/or cause the computer 9900 to execute the processesof the embodiment of the present invention or steps thereof. Such aprogram may be executed by a CPU 9912 so as to cause the computer 9900to execute certain operations associated with some or all of theflowcharts and the blocks in the block diagrams described herein.

The computer 9900 according to the present embodiment includes the CPU9912, a RAM 9914, a graphics controller 9916 and a display device 9918,which are mutually connected by a host controller 9910. The computer9900 further includes input/output units such as a communicationinterface 9922, a hard disk drive 9924, a DVD drive 9926 and an IC carddrive, which are connected to the host controller 9910 via aninput/output controller 9920. The computer also includes legacyinput/output units such as a ROM 9930 and a keyboard 9942, which areconnected to the input/output controller 9920 via an input/output chip9940.

The CPU 9912 operates according to programs stored in the ROM 9930 andthe RAM 9914, thereby controlling each unit. The graphics controller9916 acquires image data generated by the CPU 9912 on a frame buffer orthe like provided in the RAM 9914 or in itself, and to cause the imagedata to be displayed on the display device 9918.

The communication interface 9922 communicates with other electronicdevices via a network. The hard disk drive 9924 stores programs and datathat are used by the CPU 9912 within the computer 9900. The DVD drive9926 reads programs or data from a DVD-ROM 9901, and to provide the harddisk drive 9924 with the programs or data via the RAM 9914. The IC carddrive reads the programs and the data from the IC card, and/or writesthe programs and the data to the IC card.

The ROM 9930 stores therein a boot program or the like executed by thecomputer 9900 at the time of activation, and/or a program depending onthe hardware of the computer 9900. The input/output chip 9940 may alsoconnect various input/output units via a parallel port, a serial port, akeyboard port, a mouse port or the like to the input/output controller9920.

A program is provided by a computer-readable medium such as the DVD-ROM9901 or the IC card. The program is read from the computer-readablemedium, installed into the hard disk drive 9924, the RAM 9914, or theROM 9930, which are also examples of a computer-readable medium, andexecuted by the CPU 9912. The information processing described in theseprograms is read into the computer 9900, resulting in cooperationbetween a program and the above-mentioned various types of hardwareresources. An apparatus or method may be constituted by realizing theoperation or processing of information in accordance with the usage ofthe computer 9900.

For example, when communication is performed between the computer 9900and an external device, the CPU 9912 may execute a communication programloaded onto the RAM 9914 to instruct communication processing to thecommunication interface 9922, based on the processing described in thecommunication program. The communication interface 9922, under controlof the CPU 9912, reads transmission data stored on a transmission bufferregion provided in a recording medium such as the RAM 9914, the harddisk drive 9924, DVD-ROM 9901, or the IC card, and transmits the readtransmission data to a network or writes reception data received from anetwork to a reception buffer region or the like provided on therecording medium.

Also the CPU 9912 may cause all or a necessary portion of a file or adatabase to be read into the RAM 9914, wherein the file or the databasehas been stored in an external recording medium such as the hard diskdrive 9924, the DVD drive 9926 (DVD-ROM 9901), the IC card, etc., andperform various types of processing on the data on the RAM 9914. The CPU9912 then writes back the processed data to the external recordingmedium.

Various types of information such as various types of programs, data,tables, and databases may be stored in a recording medium and subjectedto information processing. The CPU 9912 may perform various types ofprocessing on the data read from the RAM 9914, which includes varioustypes of operations, information processing, condition judging,conditional branch, unconditional branch, search/replacement ofinformation, etc., as described throughout this disclosure anddesignated by an instruction sequence of programs, and writes the resultback to the RAM 9914. Also the CPU 9912 may search for information in afile, a database, etc., in the recording medium. For example, when aplurality of entries, each having an attribute value of a firstattribute associated with an attribute value of a second attribute, arestored in the recording medium, the CPU 9912 may search for an entrywhose attribute value of the first attribute matches the condition adesignated condition, from among the plurality of entries, and read theattribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, therebyobtaining the attribute value of the second attribute associated withthe first attribute satisfying the predetermined condition.

The above described program or software modules may be stored in thecomputer-readable medium on or near the computer 9900. Also a recordingmedium such as a hard disk or a RAM provided in a server systemconnected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can beused as the computer-readable medium, thereby providing the program tothe computer 9900 via the network.

While the embodiment of the present invention has been described, thetechnical scope of the invention is not limited to the above-describedembodiment. It is apparent to persons skilled in the art that variousalterations and improvements can be added to the above-describedembodiment. It is also apparent from the description of the claims thatthe embodiment to which such alterations or improvements are made can beincluded in the technical scope of the present invention.

The operations, procedures, steps, and stages of each process performedby an apparatus, system, program, and method shown in the claims,specification, or drawings can be performed in any order as long as theorder is not indicated by “prior to,” “before,” or the like and as longas the output from a previous process is not used in a later process.Even if the process flow is described using phrases such as “first” or“next” in the claims, specification, or drawings, it does notnecessarily mean that the process must be performed in this order.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCES

1 remote sensing system

10 satellite

20 ground station

30 processing station

40 database

100 imaging support apparatus

110 first information acquiring unit

120 prediction result acquiring unit

130 calculating unit

140 determining unit

150 second information output unit

410 weather data acquiring unit

420 prediction unit

610 first image acquiring unit

620 second image acquiring unit

630 image analysis unit

640 analysis result output unit

9900 computer

9901 DVD-ROM

9910 host controller

9912 CPU

9914 RAM

9916 graphics controller

9918 display device

9920 input/output controller

9922 communication interface

9924 hard disk drive

9926 DVD drive

9930 ROM

9940 input/output chip

9942 keyboard.

What is claimed is:
 1. An imaging support apparatus comprising: a firstinformation acquiring unit configured to acquire first informationindicating a first timing at which a satellite image of a target area iscaptured; a prediction result acquiring unit configured to acquire aprediction result of a time-series prediction of an imaging environmentin the target area; a calculating unit configured to calculate on atime-series basis, based on the prediction result, a degree ofsimilarity of an imaging environment between the first timing and eachtiming other than the first timing; a determining unit configured todetermine a second timing on which a satellite image of the target areais to be captured based on the degree of similarity; and a secondinformation output unit configured to output second informationindicating the second timing.
 2. The imaging support apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the imaging environment includes at least an indexindicating a soil moisture content in the target area.
 3. The imagingsupport apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a weatherdata acquiring unit configured to acquire weather data; and a predictionunit configured to predict the index based on the weather data.
 4. Theimaging support apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the predictionunit is configured to predict the index by using a tank model.
 5. Theimaging support apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the determiningunit is configured to determine the second timing from among potentialtimings at which a difference in the index satisfies a predeterminedcriterion between the first timing and each timing other than the firsttiming.
 6. The imaging support apparatus according to claim 3, whereinthe determining unit is configured to determine the second timing fromamong potential timings at which a difference in the index satisfies apredetermined criterion between the first timing and each timing otherthan the first timing.
 7. The imaging support apparatus according toclaim 4, wherein the determining unit is configured to determine thesecond timing from among potential timings at which a difference in theindex satisfies a predetermined criterion between the first timing andeach timing other than the first timing.
 8. The imaging supportapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second information outputunit is configured to output an imaging request command configured torequest for capturing the target area at the second timing.
 9. Theimaging support apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the secondinformation output unit is configured to output an imaging requestcommand configured to request for capturing the target area at thesecond timing.
 10. The imaging support apparatus according to claim 3,wherein the second information output unit is configured to output animaging request command configured to request for capturing the targetarea at the second timing.
 11. The imaging support apparatus accordingto claim 4, wherein the second information output unit is configured tooutput an imaging request command configured to request for capturingthe target area at the second timing.
 12. The imaging support apparatusaccording to claim 1, further comprising: a first image acquiring unitconfigured to acquire first satellite image data obtained by capturingthe target area at the first timing; and a second image acquiring unitconfigured to acquire second satellite image data obtained by capturingthe target area at the second timing.
 13. The imaging support apparatusaccording to claim 2, further comprising: a first image acquiring unitconfigured to acquire first satellite image data obtained by capturingthe target area at the first timing; and a second image acquiring unitconfigured to acquire second satellite image data obtained by capturingthe target area at the second timing.
 14. The imaging support apparatusaccording to claim 3, further comprising: a first image acquiring unitconfigured to acquire first satellite image data obtained by capturingthe target area at the first timing; and a second image acquiring unitconfigured to acquire second satellite image data obtained by capturingthe target area at the second timing.
 15. The imaging support apparatusaccording to claim 4, further comprising: a first image acquiring unitconfigured to acquire first satellite image data obtained by capturingthe target area at the first timing; and a second image acquiring unitconfigured to acquire second satellite image data obtained by capturingthe target area at the second timing.
 16. The imaging support apparatusaccording to claim 12, further comprising an image analysis unitconfigured to analyze the first satellite image data and the secondsatellite image data.
 17. The imaging support apparatus according toclaim 16, wherein the image analysis unit is configured to detect achange in vegetation in the target area based on a difference betweenthe first satellite image data and the second satellite image data. 18.The imaging support apparatus according to claim 17, further comprisingan analysis result output unit configured to generate an alert when thechange in vegetation exceeds a predetermined criterion.
 19. An imagingsupport method, wherein the imaging support method is performed by acomputer and comprises steps executed by the computer, the stepsincluding: acquiring first information indicating a first timing atwhich a satellite image of a target area is captured; acquiring aprediction result of a time-series prediction of an imaging environmentin the target area; calculating on a time-series basis, based on theprediction result, a degree of similarity of an imaging environmentbetween the first timing and each timing other than the first timing;determining a second timing on which a satellite image of the targetarea is to be captured based on the degree of similarity; and outputtingsecond information indicating the second timing.
 20. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having an imaging support program recordedthereon, wherein the imaging support program is performed by a computer,and causes the computer to function as: a first information acquiringunit configured to acquire first information indicating a first timingat which a satellite image of a target area is captured; a predictionresult acquiring unit configured to acquire a prediction result of atime-series prediction of an imaging environment in the target area; acalculating unit configured to calculate on a time-series basis, basedon the prediction result, a degree of similarity of an imagingenvironment between the first timing and each timing other than thefirst timing; a determining unit configured to determine a second timingon which a satellite image of the target area is to be captured based onthe degree of similarity; and a second information output unitconfigured to output second information indicating the second timing.